Cape Town’s Belmond Mount Nelson held up by armed gang

Guests and staff of the Belmond Mount Nelson have had their personal belongings stolen by a gang of 15 men with two guns.

The South African Police Service (SAPS) has confirmed that the luxury, five-star Belmond Mount Nelson Hotel in the heart of Cape Town’s city bowl was robbed on Tuesday night.

Hotel staff, security, and guests were held up at gunpoint after 15 men entered the premises.

Held up the gate guard

The gang arrived in two vehicles and gained entry by threatening the gate guard at gunpoint. After entering the premises, they relieved the guard of his baton and radio and two of the men stayed with him with the rest went into the hotel, according to SAPS spokesperson FC Van Wyk.

According to SAPS, only two of the men had firearms, but it was enough to rob several staff and guests of their personal belongings.

“The suspects then started breaking the glass cabinet display windows in the foyer with big hammers and removed jewelry, and also took an undisclosed amount of cash from the cash register,” Van Wyk added.

Smash and grab

The robbery has the makings of a classic smash and grab scenario as the incident was apparently over soon after it had begun. After the 13 men had grabbed all they could, they fled the scene in short order.

“Police investigators have immediately activated a multi-disciplinary action team and combed the crime scene area for any evidence, detectives are following up on all leads,” the SAPS statement read.

No arrests have been made as yet and FC Van Wyk appealed to anyone with information about the incident to contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111 or the Cape Town Central police station.

Update from the Belmond Mount Nelson

“We can confirm that an incident occurred on Tuesday 16 July at Belmond Mount Nelson Hotel. The members of staff and four guests affected are safe and the hotel remains open as usual,” they said in a statement.

“The safety and security of our guests and staff is our utmost priority and we have robust security arrangements in place across our global portfolio, which we regularly review.

“We would like to thank the Belmond Mount Nelson team for their professional handling of this incident and for the support that they have provided to those present or affected.

“The relevant authorities have been notified and we are supporting the police with their investigation. We are unable to comment further while this investigation is ongoing.”